GRAND MOSQUE OR ZITOUNA MOSQUE

The vibrant heart of the medina, the Grande Mosquée, accessible from rue Jamâa-ez-Zitouna and also known as the Mosquée de l'Olivier (ez-Zitouna), has an antique feel, with its arcades and columns with slightly Moorish capitals. The largest mosque in Tunis was first built in 698, when the city was founded, by the Umayyad governor Obeid Allah ibn Al-Habhab, then completely rebuilt from 856 to 863 by the Aghlabid emir Abu Ibrahim and regularly remodeled thereafter. It stands on the remains of a Christian basilica. A lively place, it continues to provide religious instruction and gather the faithful for the five daily prayers. Its architecture is similar to that of the Kairouan mosque. The hypostyle hall, the 15-nave prayer room, boasts no fewer than 184 antique columns and capitals, probably taken from the ruins of Carthage. The monument has undergone many transformations over the years. The Turks contributed by adding a gallery on three sides of the courtyard (in 1653) and raising a new minaret, which was replaced in 1834 by a 44 m tower inspired by the Hispano-Moorish minaret of the Kasbah mosque. For centuries, this mosque housed the prestigious university that bears its name. Its roof and prayer room have been extensively restored since independence. Next door, the beautiful porch of the National Library.